In Case You Missed it: Week of March 11-17

- Many new species now have protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

- A solar industry trade group reported that U.S. sales were up 76% in 2012.

- According to EPA, the fuel economy of the U.S motor vehicle fleet increased by 1.4 mpg in 2012.

- Lake Erie, once a poster child for environmental restoration, is in trouble again.  Great story here.

- A federal district court in Texas held (link goes to a long PDF document) that water managers had illegally taken whooping cranes by allowing depletion of the freshwater flows that sustained the cranes' habitat.